This invention relates to an extractor tool for bearings, bushings and the like and is particularly but not exclusively designed for use with a spherical bushing (uni-ball) from the outward shaft of the rotor drive gearbox of a combine.
At present, one has to remove gearboxes before removing spherical bushing (uni-ball) with a slide hammer puller. When this method is used and is unsuccessful in removing spherical bushing (uni-ball), 90% of dealerships use a cutting torch, therefore running the risk of damaging the output shaft, plus overheating of this shaft could cause shaft and seal failure. This method takes approximately 8-9 hours. If the gearboxes are left in the combine, the slide hammer puller cannot be used because there is no room to work with it. Some dealerships move the rotors forward enough or completely remove and then use a cutting torch, running the risk of internal fire in the combine and probable damage to output shaft and gearbox seal. Approximate time 31/2-4 hours. If seal failure does exist, gearboxes have to be pulled from the combine for seal replacement.
Various designs of puller devices have been located in a search as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,847,752 discloses a valve lifter extractor but this is unsatisfactory for the purpose for which the present invention is concerned for the following reasons:
1. Relies on hand pull power which does not provide necessary force to extract the spherical bushing. PA0 2. Cannot be used in confined area. PA0 3. Does not provide depth required; therefore, would not grip the bushing. PA0 4. Does not provide backing against gear box to relieve the stress. PA0 1. Relies on barbed ends for friction grip on the hard steel surface, inside of the spherical bushing, which would not provide the necessary grip for extraction. PA0 2. Uses a finger turn head for the expansion pressure which would not provide sufficient outer force for grip to pull out the spherical bushing. PA0 3. Rotating handles would be too short in confined areas to exert necessary force or torque for removal of a spherical bushing. PA0 4. Only hand pressure can be used to keep the whole unit from rotating while attempting to remove a spherical bushing. PA0 5. All parts must be machined thus creating greater manufacturing cost. PA0 1. Depends on hand pull which would not provide the necessary force to remove a spherical bushing. PA0 2. Extraction tongs do not provide the necessary grip for extraction force. PA0 3. Cannot be used in limited space area. PA0 4. Gear box needs to be tightly secured because there is no backing force applied against the gear box. PA0 1. Relies on hand pull or chain to exert pulling force which would not be possible in a confined area. PA0 3. Difficult to exert pulling force when having to ensure the wedge pressure is secure at the start. PA0 1. The barbed grip end of the extraction unit would not be able to provide sufficient grip friction to remove hard steel spherical bushings. PA0 2. Use of a fixed rotating handle of sufficient length to provide torque necessary for removal would not be operable in a confined area. PA0 3. The stand assembly makes it impossible to manoeuver in confined areas when gear box is not removed from the implement. PA0 4. The coil spring retainer would limit the depth size of spherical bushings that could be removed. PA0 5. The nut to expand the barbed unit is a hand turn which would not provide enough torque to provide expansion force necessary for removal. PA0 6. All parts must be especially machined making the cost expensive. PA0 7. The unit that the bushing is being removed from must be supported up for the tool. PA0 1. The concave lip of the expansion unit does not grip enough to remove the spherical bushing. PA0 2. The expansion unit is not slotted enough to provide maximum surface contact of the gripping lip to hold onto the bushing. PA0 3. Depends totally on a dead end unit to provide a pushing surface for extracting bolt to push against and would be too long for most jobs in a confined area. PA0 4. The double wedge system puts side pressure on the inner portion of the bushing thus expanding the outer portion and making it tighter; thus, removal is more difficult. PA0 1. This unit is limited to extracting bushings from dead end units and will not work with open ended set ups. PA0 2. Difficult to keep the expansion unit in position with the threads aligned while installing the extraction bolt in a confined area. PA0 3. The wedge-type extraction bolt exerts horizontal and vertical pressure on the threads of the extraction bolt thus increasing the amount of torque necessary which would be difficult to supply with an Allen wrench.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,671,263 discloses an extractor tool for bearings and bushings, but this is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,496,134 discloses a tool for extracting expansion bolts, but this is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,363,934 discloses a journal box or flue puller, but this is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
2. Depends on a rat-tail grip pattern on the extracting portion of the puller which would not provide the necessary grip for extraction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,973 discloses a tool for removing bushings, but this is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,290,427 discloses a bearing puller, but this is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,664 discloses a pulling tool for extracting bushings and bearings, but it is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved extractor tool or pulling device for bearings, bushings and the like which is designed in an improved manner to provide the necessary pulling force and to provide the necessasry grasping technique on the bearing sleeve to which the force is to be applied.
According to the invention, therefore, it is provided an extractor tool for bearings, bushings and the like having a bore within which a shaft is normally received, the tool comprising an inner puller body which has a substantially cylindrical outer surface and an inner bore extending axially therealong, one end of the body including integrally therewith a grasping portion having an outer surface thereof which is substantially cylindrical for entering said bore and includes a substantially radially extending lip defined by a shoulder facing toward an opposed end of the body and including a plurality of longitudinal slots dividing said grasping portion into a plurality of grasping members each of which can flex outwardly to cause said lip to engage behind a rear face of said bearing, bushing or the like, a bolt for extending along said inner bore having a head at one end for engaging an end face at said opposed end of said inner puller body and a male screw threaded portion at an opposed end thereof arranged, with said head at said opposed end, to extend outwardly at said one end of the body, a wedge member having a female screw thread therein such that rotation of the bolt relative to the wedge member causes the wedge member to be drawn axially to engage an inside surface of said grasping portion to flex said grasping members outwardly, a portion of the outer surface of said inner puller body having thereon a screw thread, a nut for engaging said screw thread so as to move axially when the nut is rotated relative to said body, means on said body by which the body can be grasped for holding said body against rotation, and an outer puller body having an inner surface arranged to surround said screw thread portion of the outer surface, one end surface for engaging said nut for axial movement of the outer puller body with the nut and an opposed end face spaced from the inner puller body for engaging an abutment whereby rotation of said bolt causes said grasping portion to grasp an inner face of said bushing, bearing and the like and rotation of said nut causes said outer puller body to engage said abutment and to force said inner puller body and said bearing, bushing and the like in axial direction for removal .